Tag: Carles Puigdemont

Catalan MPs have elected a fervent separatist as the new chief of the region, ending a leadership vacuum of more than six months and setting the scene for more confrontations with the Spanish government. Quim Torra, 55, a former corporate lawyer who went on to lead a prominent pro-secession group, vowed to build an independent Catalan republic by working under the leadership of his fugitive predecessor, Carles Puigdemont.

Former Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont will face German justice this Monday. The case expects a cascade of court procedures that could drag on for weeks and supporters of independence of Catalonia have mobilized on Sunday afternoon in Barcelona, causing dozens of injured demonstrators due to clashes with the police.

The new pro-independence speaker of Catalonia's parliament on Thursday started meeting party representatives to pick a regional president, with exiled former leader Carles Puigdemont in the lead for the post.

Catalonia's separatists look set to regain power in the wealthy Spanish region after local elections on Thursday, deepening the nation's political crisis in a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and European Union leaders who backed him. With nearly all votes counted, separatist parties won a slim majority in Catalan parliament, a result that promises to prolong political tensions which have damaged Spain's economy and prompted a business exodus from the region.

As voters in Catalonia ready themselves for Thursday’s election results, they will not be alone in anxious anticipation. Nobody has bet more on the outcome than Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has urged Catalans to step back from what he sees as an illegal, reckless insistence on independence.

Catalonia's sacked separatist leader Carles Puigdemont and four of his former ministers were released with conditions in Belgium on Sunday after turning themselves in to face a Spanish warrant for their arrest.

Sacked Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has gone to Belgium, a lawyer he has hired there says. The lawyer, Paul Bekaert, did not comment on reports that Puigdemont could be preparing an asylum claim.